THE WORLD'S WHITE MEN.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1881, 15 October 1913, Page 5

THE WORLD'S WHITE MEN.

A STUDY IN POPULATIONS. The growth of the world's population, as reviewed by Mr. L. G. Cliizza Money, in tho London "Daily News," affords a deeply interesting study. Wo do not know within a hundred million or so how many people thero are in the world, but the aggregate is probably 1600 to 1700 millions. AVhito moil, of course, count for but a small part of this groat total. In all tho world there are about SSO inillious of white people, and more than twothirds of these form the population of Europe. The growth of tho American nations has been rapid, and they have been recruited by a vast emigration from the Old World to tho New, but the world leadership of Europo is still overwhelming. Hero is an approximate estimate, in round figures, of what the European population will amount to at the end of this year:— EUROPEAN POPULATIONS, 1913. United Kingdom 45,600,000 France 39,800,000 German Empire 67,000,000 Russia 140,000,000 Austria 29,200,000 Hungary 21,400,000 Italy 35,200,000 Spain 19,800,000 Belgium 7,600,000 Holland 6,200,000 Sweden 5,600,000 Norway 2,500,000 Denmark 2,800,000 Switzerland 3,900,000 Portugal 5,400,000 Balkan Peninsula 24,000,000 Total 456,000,000 Tim estimate for the Balkan Peninsula is necessarily very rough, and writes Mr. Money, I have not attempted to divide it up' between tho various States as thoy now (more or less) exist. The Wander of Russia. Tin} two most extraordinary things in this list aro (1) the fact that Germany will soon havo twice as many people as Franco, whereas at the time of tho Franco-German ws.r tho populations of the two countries almost equalled ono another, and (2_) the great predominance of Russia in point of numbers. Every lover of Franco, and every wellwisher of the world at large, must deplore the stagnation of the French' population. In Britain and Germany the birth-rate is falling rapidly, and Britain, unlike Germany, loses population through an artificially stimulated emigration. 'Russia in Europe has now about 140,000,000 pepole. Ido not think it is generally realised that Russia has in Europe alone almost as many, peoplo as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany put _ together. Outside Europe, the Russian Empire has about 35,000,000 subjects, making a total of about 175,000,000, and she is growing at the rate of about 3,500,000 a year, after allowing for eliberation. Who shall say what part will come to be played in the world by this mighty peoplo in the time to como? Russia is the dark horso of civilisation. Hor natural resources are as magnificent as tho varied gifts of her peoplo, and as undeveloped, and sho is growing more rapidly than any other great/ nation. Lot us turn to America. Here is an estimate of the population of all America at the end of this year:— AMERICAN POPULATIONS, 1913, United States of America... 97,000,000 Canada 7,500,000 Newfoundland 200 000 Mexico ....' 16,000,000 Argentina, 6,800,000 Brazil 18,000,000 Chile' 3,500,000 Peru 3,800,000 Bolivia _ 2,000,000 Uruguay 1,200,000 Nicaragua 500,000 Costa Rica 300,000 Guatemala ....• 1,900,000 British Guiana & Honduras 300,000 British W. Indies 1,700,000 Colombia 4,000,000 Panama 400,000 Ecuador 1,200,000 Honduras 700,000 All America 167,000,000 A Caping Continent. In spite of European emigration to North and South America; the entire American Continent has as yet scarcely moro than one-third as many peoplo as Europe. The balance will doubtless he redressed, but not in tho lifetime of the present generation. Hie United States will soon havo 100 millions of peoplo, and between natural increase and immigration sho is growing at the rate of nearly two millions a year, or about one-half tho rate of growth of the Russian Empire. Canada, in spito of her great efforts, has as yet scarccly more peoplo than live in Greater London, Gut nothing is more certain than that she will .come to house a mighty population within her wide borders. The same is true of Argentina, of Brazil, and of Mexico, to say nothing of the other nations of Latin America. Tho period of constant ebulition in South America is passing, and those who imagine it peculiar to South America should reread the history of Europo. A considerable proportion of the 167 million people of tho American continent belong to other than the white races. we count half-breeds as whites, there aro probably not moro than 120 million white people in the entire continent. If we a-ccent this figure, and add the 456 millions of Europe, wo arrive at 576 millions as the white population of all Europe and all America, and that, of course, is almost tTib entire white population of the world. There aro, perhaps, seven million more whites in Australasia, South Africa, and other places, making a total white population of tho world in 1913 of about 583 millions. This is probably less than one-third of the entire population of the world. Birth and Death. What of the future in this connection? Three factors of considerable importance have to be taken into account in. any endeavonr to answer this question. The first is the fall in the birth-rate amongst the white nations generally, and especially in Western Europe. The second is the fall in the death-rate. The third is increasing emigration from the Old World to tho Now. As to tho fall in the birth-rate, the unhappy case of France shows how tho white leadership of tho world would be endangered if her example was followed by Christendom as a whole. As to the fall in the deathrate, this will undoubtedly proceed, but there is an obvious limit to tho fall. Europe may hope before very long to have a death-rate of no more than 10 per 1000, and that would mean the yearly- saving of an army of lives now unnecessarily sacrificed. As to emigration, increasing knowledge of tho world will doubtless year by year promote the movement and resettlement of a largo proportion of tho white races. It does not necessary follow that tho centre of gravity of 'whito civilisation will move from Europe to America, although thero is a possibility of this momentous change taking placo.